E!’s ‘Raising a F***ing Star’ Mom Inspired by Kris Jenner and Jennifer Lopez [Exclusive]
Momager Sam Shen from E!’s reality show Raising a F***ing Star said she looks to the ultimate momager for inspiration – Kris Jenner.
Shen is busy helping daughters ChaCha (10) and Kennie (15) balance their packed dance, acting, and modeling schedule with school and friends, admitting that being a momager is a full-time job. She draws inspiration from Jenner, a famous mother who helped to launch the careers of her five daughters. Another icon Shen admires is triple threat icon Jennifer Lopez, someone her children also look to for inspiration.
Kris Jenner and Jennifer Lopez are 2 moms Sam Shen looks to for inspiration
As a mother managing her two children’s careers, Shen told Showbiz Cheat Sheet she’s often asked which Hollywood mom-manager she looks to for inspiration. “I want to emulate someone like Kris Jenner,” she said. “Her work ethic. She’s obviously iconic when it comes to stuff like this. And she’s also extremely smart. So it takes street smarts. It takes book smarts, and she’s someone that I absolutely would want to emulate.”
“I love Jennifer Lopez, too,” Shen added. “People say she’s not really a momager. No, she’s not. But she did it for herself and she’s a star. And I just think everything that she does and has done for herself, becoming an independent businesswoman who also does everything that she has ever set out to do. I would love for my children to feel like they can do anything as young women.”
Kennie Shen danced for Jennifer Lopez in the past
Shen’s daughters also look to Lopez for inspiration and her daughter Kennie danced in front of Lopez on the second season of World of Dance. “We were asked that question and [Lopez] was the first thing Kennie said,” Shen said. “Kennie’s really lucky ’cause she’s gotten to meet her before, so she knows how she is. And so, that’s the first person I think they always think of when it comes to stuff like this.”
Kennie Shen appeared on World of Dance with her team, Cubcakes Dance Crew. She also auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance Season 13. “She danced for Jennifer, Derek (Hough), and Ne-Yo,” Shen said. “So she has met them before.”
Sam Shen describes a partnership in parenting with husband Phil
While Shen looks to Jenner and Lopez for inspiration, she said she couldn’t do this alone. She credits husband Phil for his loving support, which helps to lift her and their daughters up and motivates them to reach for the stars. “He’s super involved and we’re definitely a team,” she said. “I don’t think I could do this without his help. And we do have two children and there’s a lot to juggle. I’m really thankful that I have a partner in my life, my husband who believes in the kids and really believes in me.”
“He is the driving force, actually,” Shen added. “He’s always the one that says, ‘You can do this! You got this!’ Like, ‘I don’t know anybody who could do this any better.’ It’s very special it’s very interesting because he is the one that keeps telling me year after year, you can do this. You got this. Because I was working full time and trying to juggle all of it. So he’s the one that encouraged me to stop working and really focus on this. So I would say he’s an integral part in it.”
Shen and her husband work as partners when it comes to their children. ” He helps me pick up the pieces where I can’t get to it,” she said about their partnership in parenting. “He helps me with a lot of stuff, between editing and just helping me do research and keeping us organized at home. Those are things that are really important that I don’t have time for all the time.”
Raising A F***ing Star is on Wednesday at 9:30 ET on E!
